~Chapter 3~

The wagon rattled up a slight incline before leveling out. The recruits around Naruto were chatting in low voices about where they were going. None of them could see through the heavy black canvas that covered the wagons. After a near thirty minute ride, the wagon came to a stop and the commandant's head appeared through the flap.

"Alright whelps. Iga, Naga, you two out." Everyone in the wagon knew better than to ask any questions. A Shadowguard is told what they need to know. If they need to more they find out, not ask their superiors. The two men, well boys really as neither had seen their fourteenth birthday, climbed out of the wagon before it rattled on. An hour and a half dozen stops later the commandant poked his head through.

"Uzumaki, Itami, out." Naruto and a young man with shrewd eyes clambered out of the wagon. No sooner had the feet hit the ground, the wagon rolled away leaving the pair standing in an alleyway with a Shadowguard Sergeant.

"Alright you two. Here's the sitrep. You have six hours to return to base. You may use whatever means you choose. But know this there are Operation Teams scattered all over the city. Get caught by one you're done, get spotted you're done, get your cover blown you're done. But make it back to base and you might just have a chance. Now move." The sergeant made the half-Tiger Seal and faded into the shadows. Leaving the two trainees standing alone.

"So how do we get back to somewhere we don't even know where it or we are." Itami asked looking up towards sky.

"We find our way. Well I'm going to find my way." Naruto leapt up the rooftops.

A truly amazing sight struck him. Spread out before him was Ember City, capital city of the Land of Fire. Three thousand square miles, home to almost thirty-eight million people, and the center of the civilian world. Somewhere within an hour and half carriage ride is a facility that no one knows about. And he had six hours to find it.

Two operatives, twenty meters, no doubt armed with detectors. Naruto crouched inside a small crate. This was going to be hard, they would detect him once he got close enough. He'd been watching them for nearly a half hour, they didn't patrol they just watched the area. He had to get moving, they'd notice the crate soon. He waited until they were both looking away before slipping out the back. He had realized that the Operation Teams weren't just there to watch for the recruits, they were the key to finding the base. They weren't stationed randomly, not all of them, some were located at key intersections blocking the path you weren't supposed to take. Most would scout around the teams, or attempt to get past them. But the shinobi world exists in between the lines.

He looked down the path he had come from. There were two more teams that had guided him to where he was. The team in front of him was posted overlooking the intersection, they would see anything that crossed it. He had to move quickly and at the exact right time. Their detectors would be standard issue, which meant they had a set refresh rate. Every forty-four seconds they effectively shut off for one and a quarter seconds while the system resets. He couldn't be sure exactly when the reset happened, but while they were good at looking like they weren't watching in a pattern, they were. Every now and again they would both look squarely at the intersection. That was his opening.

In that moment he could rush under the awning at the bottom of the building. He'd be clear of their line of sight. And if his idea was correct, their sensors would be down. He braced against the wall to his back and watched.

One-one thousand, Two-one thousand, Three-one thousand, the seconds counted by. At twenty-four seconds they both turned their gaze to the center of the intersection.

'Now!'

He pushed off the wall with all his might and ran, ran harder than he'd ever run before. He had good conditioning, so he could run for a good while. He was not, however, a sprinter. But he sprinted nonetheless. His legs were on fire, but he pushed it down. He passed through the shadow of the awning and kept going till he hit the alley on the other side. A part of him knew he was in the clear, but he took only a second to catch his breath before booking it down the alleyway. A Shadowguard was the best.

'Week twenty-nine. Day six. There are only ten of us left, in eight days there will be seven. Those seven will become part of the most elite unit in the world. Tomorrow we're being allowed to return to our homes for a two day leave. I probably won't go, it's not like there's anyone waiting for me.' Naruto wrote in a small journal. He sat on his bunk, deep underground. He sighed and leaned his head back against the wall. Soon lost in thought he barely heard Ijo's voice.

"Hey Uzumaki! The Commandant wants us all in the briefing room."

"Alright." The blonde nodded before leaping off the bunk.

Five minutes later the remaining ten recruits stood in two rows of five. The Commandant paced in front of them.

"Alright, whelps. Tomorrow you will all be allowed to go back to your homes for two days. Well more accurately you're to return to here in 72 hours. Any who don't will be considered dropouts. You will suffer no repercussions if you do not return. But if you do, you forfeit your right to try again. At this point if you don't have the heart there's no point in trying again." He took a breath.

"It's at this time that I will an important truth about your final Shadowguard vows." The assembled recruits all began to murmur. "Enough. The truth is that once you take your final vows; you will be resigned from active duty as a shinobi of the Leaf, and will begin life as a civilian here in Ember City. And now I need each and every one of you to form a half-Tiger Seal."

At his words most of them began loudly asking questions. The only ones who don't are the three occupying the gold token slots; Tatsuma Ijo, Hayate "Six-Shades" Kirameki, and Naruto Uzumaki. Those three wordlessly formed the half-Tiger Seal as instructed. A full Shadowguard stepped up to each and completed the mirrored seal. Naruto groaned as he felt a tightness in his chest. He looked to the other two and could see that they were going through the same thing.

"What has just happened, is that we've placed a seal jutsu on each of your hearts. You ever breathe a word about the Shadowguard to someone outside our organization, the seal will fry your heart in an instant. And then it will disappear, it will look like your heart simply gave out."

It took some time but eventually all the recruits had the seal placed on them. Some needed more coaxing than others but all did it. With that complete, the Commandant dismissed them all to pack for their free weekend. Naruto stood at rest as the rest exited.

"Uzumaki, what do you want?" The Commandant asked.

Naruto snapped to attention. "Sir. Inquiry. Is it required that we return home this weekend?"

"Do you not wish to return Uzumaki?"

"No sir. Permission to speak freely?"

"Granted."

"It's not that I don't miss my home. However, there isn't really anyone there for me to return to. So if I'm to spend this weekend alone, I'd rather do it here where I can be productive."

The Commandant looked the young man up and down. "Well I can understand your reasoning Uzumaki, however we need time to prepare for the final evaluations so we request that all recruits are away from the base at the time. So to answer your question; no, you aren't required to return home. But you can't stay here."

"Understood Sir."

"Very good, dismissed."

"Sir." Naruto saluted and left the room.

'I guess I can go back to the village. Should probably tell people I'll be moving here next week.'